#ProjectCrypto On Thursday, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins delivered a speech that heralded a new era for the main regulator. After the SEC spent years combatting the blockchain industry through enforcement actions, newly appointed Atkins announced an initiative called "Project Crypto," which aims to make the United States the "global capital of cryptocurrency."

Atkins's speech took place just one day after the White House published a 166-page report outlining its own approach to regulating the cryptocurrency industry, and just three months after he took office as the chief financial regulator.

In his Thursday address, Atkins laid out a number of priorities for SEC staff, including the development of "clear and simple rules" regarding various behaviors in the cryptocurrency space, including custody and trading, as well as enabling intermediaries, such as exchanges, to become "super applications" offering a wide range of services.